Several shafts of the mine collapsed on Sunday.
"The director general of Sudanese Mineral Resources Company Limited, the branch head in the state of West Kordofan, and employees... counted 38 prospectors killed, as the Umm Drisaya gold mine collapsed," the statement read.
Due to previous accidents, local authorities had closed the gold mine and security forces guarded it for some time, according to the company. However, when the guard was withdrawn, "prospectors sneaked to the mine to work again."
Sources in the state government told the Sudanese Radio Dabanga that eight more people sustained injuries in the accident. Searches are underway to find miners under the debris, the radio reported.